Today at EIBTM, Meeting Professionals International (MPI) will introduce the Business Value of Meetings (BVOM) toolbox, a collection of resources created from research findings unveiled at AIBTM in June that indicated meeting and event professionals are challenged with five primary barriers to successfully proving the business value of meetings and events.

The initial whitepapers are developed with a focus on solutions and examples for readers, and will address the primary barriers to successfully implementing BVOM practices into event portfolios. Those barriers include...

• Low perception of ROI
  
• Difficulty in getting stakeholder buy-in
  
• Defining meeting objectives and expectations
  
• Devising meaningful ways to measure value
  
• Analyzing and reporting BVOM data
  

These papers lay the foundation for more tools being development, which will be added to the toolbox in the months ahead creating a blueprint for how meeting professionals can improve skills necessary to measure the business value of their meetings and events.

For example, to address the perception of low ROI, MPI will add tools in December built from the first whitepaper that include instructional videos, a glossary of terms, two additional case studies and handout on benefits of change as well as a presentation featuring “A Tale of Two Meetings.” Then in January, specific to getting stakeholder buy-in, MPI will introduce tutorials on identifying objectives and key business owners, a “Question Bank” and an “Idea Bank” to help even the novice planner jumpstart initiatives in their business.

“By identifying these key barriers, the research revealed a manageable path for MPI to lead event professionals down that will lay a strong foundation for the development of a more value-focused event portfolio,” said Didier Scaillet, MPI and MPI Foundation chief development officer. “Each of the tools and resources we are creating will build on this foundation, and empower people to approach their business in a smarter way that enables them to be more successful.”

Tools under development include...

• instructional videos and podcasts,
  
• articles detailing solutions and examples of success,
  
• case studies and corresponding webinars to delve into best practice ideas,
  
• how-to guides, tutorials and workbooks that professionals can use on a specific job.

Each tool intended to provide more actionable information that equips individuals to succeed. MPI members will have unlimited access to the new tools and non-member professionals will be able to purchase them. 

MPI will also deliver a BVOM research session today. After EIBTM, the next live event opportunity to explore the BVOM initiative will be at MPI’s European Meetings & Events Conference (EMEC) January 29–31, 2012 in Budapest, Hungary.